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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. drill — the tool
  4. hand — in cards
  5. drill — army training
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. drill — a practice
  12. kick — in football
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. mark — a trace
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com